Robot Explorers (The Pocket Encyclopaedia of Spaceflight in Colour, #3)

4.8/5 ( ratings)

In 1970 Russia opened a new age of space exploration by manipulating robot deviceson the Moon under remote control. In September of that year an unmanned spacecraft soft-landed in the Sea of Fertility and returned with a 4-ounce sample of lunar soil. Two months later an eight-wheeled mooncar began to operate in the Sea of Rains taking its instructions from engineers seated comfortably and safely before master controls on Earth. Though man will never be entirely replaced in space exploration, robots will play an increasingly important role. For certain specialised tasks they have obvious advantages over expensive manned expeditions: they are able to prove dangerous, unknown areas where man dare not venture - perhaps even the hot, high-pressure environment of Venus. The surface of Mars will certainly be explored by computer-controlled robotslong before men arrive. Moreover, they can be abandoned without a qualm when their mission is accomplished. The book takes an imaginative look at the future of robot explorations on Mars and the outer planets of the solar system. Kenneth Gatland, Vice-President of the British Interplanetary Society and Editor of Spaceflight magazine, is well-known for his numerous books on the subject, including Manned Spacecraft and Frontiers of Space, in this series. The detailed, colourful artwork is by John Wood and his team of artists who are already celebrated for their work on aircraft and space subjects and who portray the short but thoroughly absorbing history of these exploratory vehicles with vivid and lifelike accuracy.